How Many?
by Kalira69
Summary: Shiro goes looking for his mate, and finds him in a pensive mood. (Galra AU; Written for Sheith Month, Day 5) (The Empress' Elite series, #2)


Written for Day 5 of Sheith Month: Galaxies.

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Shiro paused in the doorway of the darkened observation deck, eyeing the familiar slim shoulders of his mate silhouetted against the stars. He slipped inside and palmed the pad by the door, closing the space off from the rest of the ship again before making his way across the floor amongst the dull glints of reflecting stars.

Keith's posture shifted slightly, his ears tipping backwards - directly towards Shiro - then up again. Shiro continued right up behind him, eyes on his mate more than the view of space that so appeared to be holding Keith's own attention. He hummed slightly, shifting to allow Shiro to stand close, but didn't look at him or speak.

Shiro let his hands come up to rest on Keith's hips, thumbs rubbing the sharp angle of the bones where they crested just below the slight dip to his waist. Keith sighed, one ear twitching. Shiro just held him silently for a few doboshes, glancing out beyond him at the quadrant currently playing host to the Empress' flagship.

"What are you thinking?" Shiro asked eventually, voice low, hands sliding over Keith's hips and forwards onto his belly as he pressed close, bringing his mate's back snugly against his chest.

"Wondering." Keith replied almost immediately, his voice just as quiet. Shiro hummed curiously, nuzzling one of his ears and making him shiver and let out a soft, breathy sound that wasn't quite a laugh. "Wondering . . . how many do you think there are?" he asked.

That gave Shiro pause, and he looked out the window again, eyes tracking the arc of the planets in the nearest system, orbiting in an aligned arc around their blue sun. "Peoples? Worlds? Stars?" he guessed.

"Galaxies." Keith said, gesturing towards the slow, lazy twirl of a golden yellow and sparking blue galaxy far off on one side of the field of space visible. He tilted his head to look at Shiro from the corner of one eye, his lips curving. "But yes." he added.

Shiro's lips twitched towards a smile of his own and he stroked his mate's belly with one hand. "Impossible to say." he said after a moment, nuzzling Keith's hair, then looking back out at the view.

Keith took a deep breath and sighed, nodding. He shifted in Shiro's arms; not pulling away, but not quite leaning close, either. Shiro's thumb brushed up and down in a lazy arc over his belly as his shoulders relaxed, sloping down a little.

"You know," Shiro said after another few long, quiet moments, hugging his mate close with arms locked around his waist, "I don't know how many there are out there, but I do know one thing. . ." he trailed off.

"Mm?" Keith prompted him to continue, one ear twitching alertly.

"I think eventually we will see them all. Or at least as many as it is even possible to reach in one lifetime." Shiro said, and Keith startled a tiny bit, turning to look at him with wide eyes, shoulders twisting against him. "Our Empress wishes to have them, and we may not reach every one - there are too many, we might not _live_ so long, not you and I - but . . . with our Empress you know we'll come close."

Keith's lashes fluttered, his expression thoughtful, and finally he nodded, facing forwards again and leaning backwards into Shiro's arms. "The Empress does have big plans. For all of us." he agreed quietly, hands sliding over Shiro's forearms and clasping snugly.

Bowing his head deeply, Shiro nuzzled his mate's jaw and the side of his neck, garnering himself a rough little purr. "It's not so bad, though, mm?" he suggested in a soft voice, nosing the curve of Keith's jaw.

Keith laughed, low and fond. "Not so bad?" he repeated. "No. I'm pleased to be part of Empress Allura's elite. Her plans. And," he paused, pulling away - Shiro let out a low mewl of protest as his mate slipped free of his embrace - and turning to face Shiro, twining his arms around Shiro's neck and shoulders, "I'm happy to see all those worlds. With you."

Shiro hugged his mate tight, bowing his head again to meet Keith's affectionate nuzzle as his own arms tightened around Shiro. The gentle nudging became a lazy, warm kiss, and Keith leaned back against the observation window, drawing Shiro in against him, the near-endless worlds waiting for their exploration forgotten for the moment in favour of the tiny world made between a mated pair.

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This 'verse will see several more updates this month - more than any of my other Sheith AUs, though they're all getting at least _one_ story out of this Event. I've missed them all! (Perhaps especially this one, though I didn't set _out_ to add more to it than any of the others this month.)


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